I'm a notary practising in England and Wales. When I have Americans coming in to me it's always a surprise to them how different the fees are. (charging rates are based on a commercial lawyer's rates).Most people here have never heard of notaries unless they need a document for another country, so I'm always intrigued how much notaries are used in America. As far as I can make out your role is as an official witness. Is that right? Incidentally I'm always amazed how much paper work there is for property purchases compared with here. If clients ring and tell me they've got one document that they're expecting to need notarising for a property in Florida they're a bit taken aback when I tell them may get about fifteen documents.

A notary public (or notary or public notary) in the common law world is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with estates, deeds, powers-of-attorney, and foreign and international business. A notary's main functions are to administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and statutory declarations, witness and authenticate the execution of certain classes of documents, take acknowledgments of deeds and other conveyances, protest notes and bills of exchange, provide notice of foreign drafts, prepare marine or ship's protests in cases of damage, provide exemplifications and notarial copies, and perform certain other official acts depending on the jurisdiction.[1] Any such act is known as a notarization. The term notary public only refers to common-law notaries and should not be confused with civil-law notaries.

With the exceptions of Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Quebec, whose private law is based on civil law, and British Columbia, whose notarial tradition stems from scrivener notary practice, a notary public in the rest of the United States and most of Canada has powers that are far more limited than those of civil-law or other common-law notaries, both of whom are qualified lawyers admitted to the bar: such notaries may be referred to as notaries-at-law or lawyer notaries. Therefore, at common law, notarial service is distinct from the practice of law, and giving legal advice and preparing legal instruments is forbidden to lay notaries such as those appointed throughout most of the United States of America..

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Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until they open their mouth.

For those of you who are notaries, I would highly recommend having your name on file with local hospitals.

When my former roommate was diagnosed with a brain tumor, she had not yet written a will. She had to write the will from her hospital bed, prior to surgery. In California, wills do not have to be notarized; they must only be signed and dated (and the date doesn't even have to be valid - 1 April 3055 validates a will even though it is patently ridiculous) but she had a contentious relationship with her ex-husband, and he had a copy of an earlier will leaving things to him, so she wanted it notarized.

The hospital had the name of a notary on file. We called him and he came out to her hospital bed and notarized her will and some other documents. I think it was $50, because it was a Saturday evening.

For those of you who are notaries, I would highly recommend having your name on file with local hospitals.

When my former roommate was diagnosed with a brain tumor, she had not yet written a will. She had to write the will from her hospital bed, prior to surgery. In California, wills do not have to be notarized; they must only be signed and dated (and the date doesn't even have to be valid - 1 April 3055 validates a will even though it is patently ridiculous) but she had a contentious relationship with her ex-husband, and he had a copy of an earlier will leaving things to him, so she wanted it notarized.

The hospital had the name of a notary on file. We called him and he came out to her hospital bed and notarized her will and some other documents. I think it was $50, because it was a Saturday evening.

That's a great idea. But also, just because we notarize a will doesn't make it legal. We're notarizing that it was signed. Sometimes notarizing a will will invalidate it, because some courts will claim that any writing on the will other than the testator will void the document. It's one of those areas we have to be careful with.

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Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until they open their mouth.

I was a California notary; I did not require that I witness the signature for an Acknowledgment.

An acknowledgment says only, "John Doe, whose signature is on this document, came to me, demonstrated to my satisfaction that he is John Doe, and swore to me that he signed the document."

I do require that I witness the signature of a Jurat - a Jurat says, "John Doe came to me, demonstrated to my satisfaction that he is John Doe, and swore to me that the things stated in this document are true, then signed the document."

One of the recent changes in notarizations that permission letters are more frequently notarized - they require that somebody personally appear in front of the notary, with sufficient identification, to mitigate the possibility that a signature is forged or coerced.

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I once had to have a document notarized - for my sister in a back support dispute with her ex-husband who was in B.C. I found a notary in the phone book who worked at a realtor's office near me. I was prepared to pay a fee, but when I asked how much it would be he said, "Okay, I'm not allowed to do this for free. Give me $1.00 and I'll put it into the office coffee fund."

Some of the security staff at the hospital I worked at are commissioners for oaths, and we will call one of them to a unit to witness the drawing up of a will, power of attorney, etc. I was curious as to the difference between the two roles in Alberta, and here's what I found out:

If the documents are being used within Alberta, you need a Commissioner for Oaths. If the documents are being used outside Alberta, you need a Notary Public. If the document needs to be "certified as a true copy", you need a Notary Public

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I'm a lawyer, not a notary. But as a lawyer I can certify copies of documents and witness certain things being sworn.

My boss had a whinge when I made him re-sign an affidavit in front of me because I hadn't seen him do it. The fact that I recognised his signature and there was no reason whatsoever why that signature wouldn't be his is irrelevant. Once you start being lax, its easy to slip into being lax when you really really shouldn't be.

I frequently have people express suprise when they ask me to certify a copy of a document and I ask them for the original. How am I supposed to say this is a true copy of the original if I haven't seen the original?

In the US, both lawyers and notaries can certify a copy of a document, but of course the notary must see both the original and the copy. This is usually used for documents going to countries where notaries are also lawyers, generally, but not always, in Latin America, where there is only one original or getting a duplicate original is expensive and a pain. Sometimes, however, even an official copy (birth, marriage, death certificates and the like) must also be certified by a lawyer or notary. I have never heard of that being done for US-Canada or US-US documents, but of course every place has its own rules.

In the US, both lawyers and notaries can certify a copy of a document, but of course the notary must see both the original and the copy. This is usually used for documents going to countries where notaries are also lawyers, generally, but not always, in Latin America, where there is only one original or getting a duplicate original is expensive and a pain. Sometimes, however, even an official copy (birth, marriage, death certificates and the like) must also be certified by a lawyer or notary. I have never heard of that being done for US-Canada or US-US documents, but of course every place has its own rules.

Its similar here, but notarising a copy is different to certifying one. Better, somehow. I can't notarise. I do believe it has links to international things. Most (if not all?) notaries are lawyers here. Lots of connections with shipping law I think.

It sounds as though a lot of the stuff which requires a notary in the US would require a commissioner for oaths here in the UK - - Administering an oath / statutory declaration- £5 + £2 per exhibit- certified copies - no set fee - we usually do it free for our own clients, or charge £10 or £1 per page, whichever is higher,for non-clients.

I've definitely have brain-hurty conversations with people who don't understand that I can't (and won't) certify a copy without seeing the original document. And at least one who was most upset I wouldn't do the Statutory Declaration he'd brought it. He explained that his wife had signed it, he's declaring that it's her signature, and he can'see why I won't sign it ..

It sounds as though a lot of the stuff which requires a notary in the US would require a commissioner for oaths here in the UK - - Administering an oath / statutory declaration- £5 + £2 per exhibit- certified copies - no set fee - we usually do it free for our own clients, or charge £10 or £1 per page, whichever is higher,for non-clients.

I've definitely have brain-hurty conversations with people who don't understand that I can't (and won't) certify a copy without seeing the original document. And at least one who was most upset I wouldn't do the Statutory Declaration he'd brought it. He explained that his wife had signed it, he's declaring that it's her signature, and he can'see why I won't sign it ..

The fact that most matters are ones which would require a commissioner for oaths in the UK and the ridiculously low fees (they've not been increased since about the time I qualified in 1989!) means that where someone does need a notary they have brain hurty conversations, because some expect to be charged at that sort of level, whereas I'm entitled, as a notary, to charge a commercial rate, which I base on the time I expect to spend on the job and my hourly rate as a solicitor. It's particularly difficult for those who come across from the US where notaries are so different.

I usually have that type of conversation with people who don't (want to) get that there is a difference between me administering an oath or stat dec, and me either preparing or advising about the contents of an affidavit or stat dec. I've have people get really huffy when I explain that no, they don't get detailed legal advice or drafting for £5!